Pots and pans are essential items for kitchens in which actual food is actually prepared. They’re also a giant pain in the ass to store. Terribly uncooperative, they aren’t truly apt to stack, rack, or generally be kept in check. Here are a few tips on how to store your skillets:

Keep them in the cupboard

Pots and pans become significantly easier to access and keep neat when your cupboards are outfitted with sliding pull-out shelves. This reduces the amount that you have you nest your pans, as you can still get to pans placed at the far back of the cabinet.

Another option is to stack pans vertically inside the cabinet by using a bakeware organizer turned on its side.

Store them in a drawer

A very deep drawer can act in a similar fashion. Avoid the nest effect by storing P&P’s only one level deep. For additional assistance keeping things organizing, install custom fit drawer dividers. This will ensure that you have a proper home for everything, from the saucepan to the double-boiler.

Hang them from hooks

Hanging pots and pans can be an excellent way to save on precious kitchen space. Follow the custom of the country by choosing a pot rack that suitably fits the size of your kitchen island, if you have one. This can serve as both a functional tactic, and also qualifies as a decorative element. Very much en culinary vogue.

If you’re looking for a way to hang that’s a tad less obtrusive, then a smaller, more discreet hanging rack may be just what the chef ordered.

Control them with compromise

If you like the idea of hanging, but would rather not air your clean pans in public, then this masterfully innovative technique is for you:

Hang them…IN THE CUPBOARD– HELLO!?!

*Important note– While on the subject, I want to ensure you are aware of the questions being raised as the to the safety of nonstick pans. The facts go like this: nonstick skillets are coated with Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Heat causes this coating to break down, which may release toxins and carcinogenic particles into the air. These toxins can accumulate in our bodies over time which is like…really bad, duh.

Some experts claim nonstick pans are still safe to use, as long as they’re not over-heated, as very high heat is what causes the PFOA to begin breaking down. 500° and up is considered “over-heating.” Since I’m not a thermometer, I personally would have no clue when my pan has reached 500°. So I’m going to steer to the side of caution and opt for stainless steel or cast-iron cookware. You may want to do the same. Or not, but at least I’ve done my duty by giving you all the DL.

Image credits: Martha Stewart, Shelf Genie, Martha Stewart, BHG, Country Living, Martha Stewart, Country Living, Martha Stewart, BHG, Victoria Pearson, Ayr Cabinetry